Halloumi Cheese Pakoras Sandwiches

Yeh… yeh… yeh… I know sometimes halloumi cheese can become bit of a bore for vegetarians at times.  The same old grills added to refreshing green salads – however delicious does tend to become a bit blah 😉

Initially I wanted to make crumbed halloumi cheese sandwiches but my hubby requested some pakoras as well and suggested I give this a go like paneer fingers.  And what do you know…It works so well.  Just so you know my hubby and I devoured the entire 250g ….oh yes we did 🙂  I will be sharing another one of my super favourite halloumi cheese curry recipe soon, I just love the way this ingredient lends itself to different types of cuisine.

Spicy Halloumi Cheese Sarmies

Halloumi Cheese Pakoras Sandwiches

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

+/-  250g Halloumi Cheese (sliced into 1cm thick strips) for vegan option replace with firm tofu.

Canola oil for shallow frying

Pakora Batter

• ½ cup (125ml) Besan flour
• ¼ cup (60ml) Rice flour
• 1 tsp (5ml) coriander powder
• 1 tsp (5ml) cumin powder
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) hot chilli powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) turmeric powder
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) brown sugar
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt (adjust accordingly)
• 180 ml cold water (add more or less to form thick batter)

*Mix all the above ingredients to form a nice thickish batter

       Let’s cook 🙂 

1. Heat oil in a pan. Oil should be medium hot. *The oil should just cover the halloumi/tofu slices about 1 cm depth.
2. Dip halloumi or tofu slices into the batter and fry for 30-45 seconds on each side.

these are just good on there own as well making the perfect peckish bites

Sandwich Ingredients

• 6 brown rolls sliced and buttered
• Lettuce
• Shredded cabbage
• Julienned carrots
• Finely sliced onion
• Slice red chilli

Sandwich Dressing (combine all ingredients in a pestle mortar and coarsely grind)

• 1 cup (250ml) fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt (adjust accordingly)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 30 ml fresh lemon juice

This is how:

Start by assembling the sandwiches –

Then make the sandwich dressing – spoon over lettuce, cabbage, carrots, onion & chilli.

Lastly fry halloumi cheese pakora’s  – add 2 slices each to sandwiches.

Now how easy is this 😉